Device for controlling electric circuits



Feb. 4, 1941. F. E..OWEN ETAL DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING ELECT IC EIRQUITSFiled Nov. 16, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORJ. f're aerial 4'. Owe n.Harry 0'0 9 1 ewis. (7m rles fmme?! en 1';

y a ATTORNEY.

Feb. 4,1941. F. E. OWEN EI'AL 2,230,260

DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING ELECTRIC CIRCUITS Filed Nov. 16, 1938 2Shuts-Sheet 2:

INVENTORS. Frederic} Owen.

Harry Jay Zen/1:5 C'fiarfes fmmeff Ken 1'5.

Y i ATTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 4, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I T DEVICE FORCONTROLLING ELECTRIC CIRCUITS Frederick. E. o en, East Palestine, HarryJay Lewis, South Euclid, and Charles Emmett Lewis, University Heights,Ohio Application November 16, 1938, Serial No. 240,686 Claims. (01.219-20) This invention relates to electrical apparatus having acombination mounting and guard emh vin a plurality of rcuits, one ormore of bodying our invention and showing a standard which may beconnected to the source of current type of plug inserted in themounting. supply, being particularly adapted for electrical Fig. 2 is aview partly in side elevation and 5 appliances of the domestic type, (a)such as partly in section on the line 2-2 of Fig.1.

broilers, grills, ovens, hot plates and the like, Fig.3 is a fragmentarysection on the line 3-3 6 wherein it is desirable to use varying degreesof of Fig. 1. heat for cooking purposes, or (b) where one or Fig. 4 is abottom plan view of the parts shown more heating devices may beconnected to the in Fig. 1, the plug being omitted.

source of current supply. More specifically the Fig. 5 is a section onthe line 55 of Fig. 6. 1o

invention relates to a multi-circuit appliance Fig. 6 is a diagrammaticview. having a plurality of contacts or terminals and Fig. '7 is adiagrammatic view showing a modiguard means arranged to permit theplugging-in fication. of any two related contacts or terminals while iFig. 8 is a view showing a modification; that 13 protecting the non-usedcontacts or terminals as is, the application of the improved mounting toa safeguard against accidents or other abnormal an electric range.

conditions. Fig. 9 is a: fragmentary view' (enlarged) show- One-objectof the invention is to provide an ing a modification. improvedcombination mounting and guard for a Fig. 10 is an elevation of theparts shown in g plurality of contacts for electrical circuits ar- Fig.9.-

ranged to permit any two related contacts or Fig. 11 is a plan view ofthe plugshown in Figs. terminals to be plugged-in or connected to the, 9and 10.

current supply, whereby any one or more of the Fig. 12 is an endelevation of the plug shown circuitsmay be utilized, without exposingthe in 'Figs. 9,10 and 11. 5 non-used contacts or terminals. In thedrawings, l indicates as an entirety an Another object of the inventionis to provide electrical appliance having a wall 2 which forms animproved combination mounting and safety the support for a plurality ofcontacts or terguard for the contacts of any electrical appliance minals(later referred to) and a plate 3 for a adapted to receive a standardplug and arranged plurality of resistances 4 disposed in annular 3 topermit connection of the plug with any two spaced relation about acommon center. In the related contacts or terminals and close on allform' of construction shown for illustrative purnon-used contacts orterminals, 1 poses inFigs. 1 to 5, inclusive, the wall 2 is pref-Another object of [the invention is to provide erably formed-i te ra W ha d p s from t an improved contact or terminal mountin hav-" plate 3in'which the resistance or heating coils a ing a plurality of contacts,or terminalsdisposed 4 are mounted, but saidwall may be otherw se inannular spaced relation about a common cenmounted either in closerelation to the plate 3 ter or axis and to combine therewith'a guard orat a, remote pos as Shown in The having a rotatable member arranged toexpose appliance l as illustrated in FigsJlto 6, inclusive, any desiredtwo related contacts or terminals d Figs! 9 and ,'30 D P the 0 forengagement .by a plug, whereby all' of the r I plate 3 thereof beingmounted in a frame 5 pref- 40 maining contacts orterminals are protectedand ab y med o Sheet met l a d hav g a butmade inaccessible to eliminatedanger of accitom Wall 5, to which the'plate 3 i Suitably dent. I cured,for example, by bolts I, an'annular en- A further object of theinvention is to-provide closing wall 8 and: a surrounding ledge J conanimproved plug for connecting to the supply -nected to an outwardlyflaring skirt In, the latmains one or more electric units, constructedtoter terminating in anannulus ll adapted to make electricalv connectionwith any twosrerest on a suitable support."'In the construction latedcontacts for the units and automatically. of .the electrical applianceany desiredfnumber close ofl any nonmsed t t, a ,of resistances'l'maybe'employed and connected Other objects of the inventionewill be aptocontacts'or terminalsin'any desired 'manne'r5o parent to those skilledin,the. art to which-our to utilize their heating capacities inany'predeinvention relates from the,followingzdescription' Qterm'in'edmannen In the example shown in taken in connection ,with theaccompanying I Flgs;.1 to 6, inclusive, we provide'tworesistancesdrawings, wherein ii i 3 l, 4,: one end-of each being connected toseparate Fig. 1 is a plan view of an-electrical appliance: contactsandtheir opposite ends being connected '55 together and to anothercontact, so that by using resistances of predetermined capacities arelatively high heating effect may be obtained, when one resistance isconnected to the supply of which preferably has a contour complementaryto the outer contour of the plug 12 and is arranged to expose eithercontact I3, ,15 and an adjacent contact when the cover device is in anymains (not shown) by means of a su itable plu predeterrnined position,so that the plug I} may 5 is connected to the supply mains and arelatively major axis is tangential to an imaginary circle low heatingeffect may be obtained when botfi lWuEk from the center'common to thecontacts resistances are connected in seriesx t o LEE/11%;; 1m lfigqchsuchgys cuts the axes of the conply mains. M V o be connected by the plugl2. In the In the arrangement above referred to we proposition shown inFig. 6 contacts l3 and H are vide three contacts or terniitialsgfl'by'the bfitijif device l8 and contact l5 posed equal distances fromiii'irha 1 z ggig W iso that when the plug l2 l5 and equally spaced fromeach other, the spacing ts 'irirtea through the opening as'shown beingeq to t Of the 2635116 nl ii ilwaqvigikliil 1 .1Ei zr zwthelrresistances4 are connected in series in the plug l2, whereby the latter may eng ageto the s upply mains and therefore provide a any two selected contacts.In manui'actiiretife*relatWeiy loyv heating eifect, the word Low"beargizedm inszyatwthgttomoftthescavensdemcecandxindicating a ttheuserathe correct osition\ofitheiadeviceicnr this etity}of;meats-s.Bystmtatingdthencdver inner portio g ErA rQ L being .9 1men s Ll-l senses m 26 threaded on t y otatingntlrembyer "devices l 33:I15 iseeadottedmlin (0333: only maygbe connectedotheva \l fieeace sise ttact by a nut l3b;a o t ar-t sl te gsdttszis eurc n the nut I311. l8indicates p 'ses asheu Q I i QzIL fii; qzwlltqbie sa-gtetctemr circularand; xt nds through an opening Ilia formed in the skirtcflhm J 1 7 a"11391 PB RSIN lJiUJi-S ql 'i e folifitn 0- w... ss, out rgAJA e alongits upper portion to accommodate th indicate the predeterminedpositionsi'liotr g,

vice herebyc-thedinsertiontio :the

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t-fled" thesis.-

eat n el ha se liaeeetaon s t be hav ng .ec essescin:zwhicmare mountinthet'fi e gs ete nwducuc elementst! lg arrang'edztoliri tionally ga ethe ntacts': I13; ilgslligoan dmle sno iae l an eaasezzl 'wmcmtntut-mare t m nalsiczifiowhereby ithenlatt'er" hesimplsomainsziil 4-? .kt c modifications :havingn lsix fl rminals slfldziiwiflj 2:1m28g5'29, ai4955 y in slot

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tsw m t si e etabl nennectionmetweemtnee; i-318,5,iwglghyfjthe.gsuppliednheaitlimayob i ins ll l 32 c- 'le heg'lmarsinai13635 ously regulated. as later set forth. It will esolation gaboutfi'tsconiniofii qua ize:snacedmtherefromz-nno eacna as -eggs Dcingybeingxsimilar ta'zthatmfoth cliets ro git ormed rwithiianein e;quthedperipnenyt; on P33 1139 nhithmigrodve to v .7dedzzinetheastandardaiplug and the: me m ell me etvkhetm tqiormmemhetshen ,ntatable cover ,devioeisindifiafied 'a formats onQREEEEE QEkw lzifimizmlifiiofiflflahezicon-m th i'a plug'iireceivinge'opening 2-0 bifi'fifi QEQFQQa E mg okwgoiithc cover :device oftw relatemwconta'ctssonlyiiniaiiitie in fi'cfi-fiwq 52 skinned sent! 91thfiiiShgni snort-meet: ble amenmstmteaawtrewconiiections I n nfillhfihififrcmg eflflflflaixisextted dnithel theresistancesmndicontiicts,rgflgqgem w 1151 32 3 99 acwbcreithetcogersdemceaiscasssembled p g with contacts 24, 25, connectsmom the' t unatbistman gnot may bciwcadflmmtated methanol resistanbestengages-lent \tliia pliifii wh desired positions as later set forth. Thecover tacts 25, 26, connects in all the resistances exdevice I8 isformed with an opening 20 the wall cept resistancejll; engagement of theplug with 75' in supporting it in position.

contacts a, 21, connects m resistances u, 32,-, 3C; engagement of theplug with contacts 21, II, connects in resistances 32, II, 34;engagement the plug with contacts", 29, connects in re-' sistances 32,33; and engagement'oi the plug with contacts 29, 2|, connects inresistances 30, ll, 32, II. By a different system of wiring or bychanging the resistance value of one or more resistances any desiredvariation in heating eiiect may be obtained.

Fig. 8 illustrates a modification consisting of an electric range havingtwo 'hot plates la, ib, the resistances of which are shown controlled bythree contacts or terminals, as shown in Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive. Ifeach hot plate is provided with two resistances, as shown in Figs. 1 and6,

and connected in the same manner to the contacts, both hot plates wouldbe operated simultaneously and provide equal heating efiects. In thearrangement shown, each plate is provided with-one resistance 4 and soconnected to the 7 contacts that in one position of the cover deviceI82: one resistance is connected to the supply mains, in anotherposition of the cover device i8: the other resistance is connected tothe supply mains and in the other position of the cover device i8: bothresistances are connected to the supply mains, this latter positionbeing shown in Fig. 8.

Figs. 9, l0, l1, and 12 illustrate a different embodiment of theinvention whereby any two related contacts may be engaged to connect oneor more resistances in the circuit and all other contacts closed off andprotected. In the arrangement shown, I provide three contacts l3, I4, l,mounted and arranged as shown in Figs. 1 tov 6, inclusive. i2 indicatesas an entirety the plug comprising two sections 38, 31, formed 01'suitable insulation material, the opposed walls or the sections beingformed with related recesses to accommodate in each conductor elements38, 38, electrically connected to one of the leads 38 and formingsockets 39' to receive and irictionally engage one of the contacts in awell known manner, as shown in Fig. 9. The section 3'1 is thickened orenlarged and formed with a recess or opening W which extends inwardlyfrom the inner end of the plug section. As will be understood from Fig.12, the sockets 38 and opening 30 have the same spaced relation to eachother as the contacts 13', M, so that when the plug 12 is positioned asshown in Fig. 9, thecircuit is connected to the contacts 13', H and thecontact 15' is enclosed by the walls of the opening iii. Likewise, whentherplug is inserted so as to connect the circuit to contacts 14, 15',contact 13 is enclosed by the walls of the opening wand when the plug isinserted so as to connect the circuit to the contacts i3, i5', contact14 is enclosed by the walls of the open ing 40. It willthus be seen thatthe operation 01' positioning the plug 12' to engage any two oi thecontacts serves to simultaneously close oil and protect the, othercontact from exterior engagement therewith.

The plugsections may be removably connected together in any desiredmanner, for exampleyond .the free ends thereof and serving as a guardtherefor. The shell-may be of a size to form a guide for the plug 12 aswell as assist To those skilled in the art to which our in-- ventionrelatesmany changes in construction and widely diflering embodiments-andapplications of the invention will suggest themselves without departingfrom the spirit and scope ofthe invention. Our disclosures and thedescription herein are purely illustrative and are not intended to beany sense limiting. a

What we claim is: i

1. In an electrical apparatus, the combination with a support and meansthereon adapted .to be connected to a source of current supply, or aseries of contacts carried by said support and connected to said meansand positioned in annular equi-spaced relation, each said contact andone of the adjacent contacts .being adapted to be engaged by a plug, awall surrounding said contacts and a cover device formed. with thelatter for engagement by the plug and close off the remaining contacts.

2. An electrical apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the contour ofsaid opening being complementary to the outer wall of the plug.

3. In an electrical apparatus, the combination with a support and meansthereon adapted to be connected to-a source of current supply, of aseries of contacts connected to said means, said contacts being mountedin said support and havingextended ends disposed about a common centerequal distances therefrom and in uniform.

spaced relation, each said contact end and one of the adjacent contactends being adapted to be engaged by a plug, enclosure means forming achamber for the extended ends oi said contacts, carried by said support,said enclosure means comprising a wall surrounding said contacts andprojecting outwardly therebeyond and a cover device formed with arectilinear opening and rotatable to predetermined positions, saidopening being substantially equal in length to the annular spacingbetween said contact ends and so spaced from the axis about whichsaidcontact ends are positioned that upon movement oi said device ,to eachpredetermined position said opening is disposed in the plane cutting twoadjacent contact ends to expose the latter to engagement by theplug andclose off the remaining contact ends.

4. An electrical apparatus as claimed in claim,

3 wherein the contour of said opening is complementary to the outerwalls of the plug, whereby the plug when engaged with said exposedcontactsco-operates with said cover device to close the chamber for saidcontacts.-

5. 'In 'anelectrical apparatus, the combination with, a support andmeans thereon adapted to be connected to a source of current supply, ofa, series of, contacts connected at their inner ends to said means, saidcontacts being mounted in said support and having extended endsdisposedabout a common center. equal distances there- ,from and inuniform spaced relation, each said contact end and one of the adjacentcontact ends being adapted to be engaged by a plug, enclosure meansforming a chamber for the extended ends or said contacts, carried bysaid support, said enclosure means comprising a wall and a cover device,said wall having a forward portion surrounding the extended ends of saidcontacts .and projecting outwardly therebeyond and a rearward portionenclosing the inner ends of said contacts and that portion of saidsupport in which the contacts are mounted and said cover device beingformed with a rectilinear opening and rotatable to predetermined'positions, said opening being substantially equal in 10 length to theannular spacing between said contact ends and so spaced from the axisabout which said contact ends are positioned that upon movement of saiddevice to each predetermined position said opening is disposed in theplanecutting two adjacent contact ends to expose the latter forengagement by the plug and close off the remaining contact ends.

FREDERICK E. OWEN. HARRY JAY LEWIS. CHARLES EMMET'I LEWIS.

